Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reminded business leaders on Wednesday that socialism already failed New York City when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and progressive activists rallied against Amazon’s plan to build a headquarters in Queens.

During Crain’s New York Business mayoral forum Wednesday morning, less than one month away from Election Day, Cuomo railed against the threat that Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s policies pose to the city’s economy. 

«We are not socialists,» Cuomo said. «We all saw the foreshadowing of the danger of this philosophy when we lost the Amazon project in Queens and 50,000 jobs due to socialist opposition.» 

Cuomo told business leaders New York City is at a crossroads — it will either «decline dramatically» under Mamdani or «pivot and actually see a rebirth.»

CUOMO CALLS NYC MAYORAL RIVAL ‘DANGEROUS,’ WARNS SOCIALISM WOULD BE ‘DEATH KNELL’ FOR CITY

«My opponent’s proposal to provide free everything funded by raising taxes is pure ideological fantasy,» Cuomo said during his opening remarks. 

ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S POLICIES ‘WON’T WORK’ IN NEW YORK, ANDREW CUOMO ARGUES

And Cuomo is pointing to one consequential business flop as proof that socialism has no place in the capitalist capital. 

«We are a financial and commercial capital. We are a regulated capitalist economy,» Cuomo said, clearly criticizing Mamdani’s self-identified «Democratic socialist» policies and distaste for capitalism. 

During his tenure as governor, Cuomo courted Amazon to build its second headquarters in New York, personally urging founder and CEO Jeff Bezos to choose Long Island City and offering billions in state and city incentives, along with infrastructure and workforce commitments to seal the deal.

But the deal was met with mounting backlash from community activists and progressive lawmakers, such as Ocasio-Cortez, who rejected the estimated $2.5 billion in incentives for Amazon. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a rally in New York City on May 1, 2025.  (Angelina Katsanis/AP Photo)

«Now what I DON’T want is for our public funds to be funding freebie helipads for Amazon+robber baron billionaires,» Ocasio-Cortez wrote in 2018, «all while NYCHA and public schools go underfunded & mom+pops get nowhere near that kind of a break.»

In 2019, Amazon announced they had decided that «after much thought and deliberation» not to move forward with their plan to build headquarters in Long Island City in Queens.

«A number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City,» Amazon shared in a statement. 

Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of Job Creators Network, told Fox News at the time that Ocasio-Cortez’s «reckless scuttling of the Amazon deal cannot be overstated.»

«Not only did AOC cost New York 25,000 good-paying jobs, she sent a message to job creators everywhere that they were no longer welcome in her city,» he said. 

Amazon had anticipated creating at least 25,000 jobs in Long Island City, with the governor’s office projecting the potential growth to 40,000 jobs over 15 years.

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks to supporters at a canvass launch event in Prospect Park on Aug. 17, 2025.  (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

During Mamdani’s remarks at the business forum on Wednesday, the socialist candidate quoted Bezos, whom he described as «a man whose tax burden I would love to significantly raise.»

«Jeff once said — not to me personally, but in public — ‘You have to be willing to be misunderstood if you’re going to innovate.’ And make no mistake, my friends: when I am mayor, this city is going to innovate,» Mamdani told the room of New York City business leaders. 

But Mamdani’s plans to raise taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers to pay for ambitious campaign promises, like free buses, free childcare and city-run grocery stores, have triggered skepticism among the business community. 

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Cuomo, in particular, has seized on that skepticism in the race for Gracie Mansion, telling business leaders on Wednesday that «now is the moment for New York City to regain the crown as the greatest city on the globe.»

Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, redobló sus ataques este miércoles contra las autoridades de Chicago y pidió prisión para su alcalde, Brandon Johnson, y el gobernador de Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, al considerar que no han hecho lo suficiente para proteger a los agentes del servicio de control de inmigración (ICE) durante los operativos en esa ciudad.

«¡El alcalde de Chicago debería estar en la cárcel por no proteger a los agentes de ICE! ¡Y el gobernador Pritzker también!», escribió el mandatario republicano en su red Truth Social.

Trump ya había cargado el martes desde el Despacho Oval contra Pritzker y Johnson —ambos del Partido Demócrata—, resaltando la «incapacidad» de ambos en la gestión de «asuntos de delincuencia» en la ciudad.

Los enfrentamientos entre el presidente y las autoridades de Chicago aumentaron desde que hace un mes, cuando inició la operación Midway Blitz, liderada por el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU., para «garantizar la seguridad» en la capital del centro-norte del país.

Durante los operativos hubo múltiples detenciones de personas de origen latino, principalmente con el objetivo de deportarlas, a tono con la dura política antiinmigratoria del Gobierno republicano.

Estas operaciones provocaron crecientes protestas ciudadanas, contra las que agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza dispararon el sábado en el área de South Side: hirieron a una mujer estadounidense.

A pesar de la oposición del alcalde Johnson y el gobernador Pritzker, que han demandado a la Administración para bloquear los esfuerzos, el presidente estadounidense ordenó el envío de cientos de tropas de la Guardia Nacional como respuesta a las manifestaciones contra las redadas y a lo que ve como «crimen rampante» en Chicago.

Trump también insinuó el martes que podría invocar la Ley de Insurrección vigente, uno de los poderes de emergencia más contundentes, para justificar el envío de tropas para sofocar las protestas en Chicago, después de amenazar con hacerlo en Portland, Oregón.

Unos 200 soldados enviados Texas ya se encuentran instalados en Chicago, listos para ser desplegados, a los que se suman otros 300 miembros de Illinois que se preparan para movilizarse en los próximos días.

Estadísticas oficiales sobre criminalidad del Departamento de Policía de Chicago muestran descensos interanuales, con una reducción de los homicidios del 28% con respecto al mismo período del año pasado y de casi el 50% con respecto a hace cuatro años.

Tanto el gobernador J.B. Pritzker como el alcalde Brandon Johnson salieron rápidamente a responderle a Trump.

«No daré un pasó atrás. Trump ahora pide el arresto de los representantes electos que ponen a prueba su poder. ¿Qué más queda en el camino hacia el autoritarismo declarado?«, publicó en X el gobernador Pritzker, que ayer llegó a decir que el presidente de EE.UU. mantiene una cruzada contra la inmigración en Illinois por «una fijación obsesiva» o porque padece «demencia».

«Sus agentes enmascarados ya están atrapando gente en la calle. Separando a los niños de sus padres. Creando miedo. Tomando a las personas por su apariencia. Haciendo que la gente sienta que necesita portar documentos de ciudadanía. Invadiendo nuestro estado con tropas militares. Enviando helicópteros de guerra en plena noche. Enviando helicópteros de guerra en plena noche. Todos debemos levantarnos y alzar la voz», agregó.

I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

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What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism? pic.twitter.com/TieJ2irYv5

— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 8, 2025

Por su parte, Johnson utilizó la misma red social para reafirmarse en que no irá «a ningún lado» y añadió: «Esta no es la primera vez que Trump intenta arrestar injustamente a un hombre negro«.

This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere. pic.twitter.com/MQdHtzis3t

— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) October 8, 2025

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is facing backlash after using an image of an emaciated Israeli hostage in an Instagram post allegedly showing Palestinians suffering.

The post read, «The suffering of Palestinian prisoners is not a matter of opinion — it is a fact of systemic cruelty and dehumanization. Humanity cannot be selective. Justice cannot have borders.» It also included three images, including one of hostage Evyatar David, who was taken from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. 

The image of David was a still frame from a Hamas propaganda video. In the video, David appears extremely frail as he describes the conditions in captivity and says he hasn’t eaten for days. The part of the video that shocked many was when David’s captors forced him to dig his own grave.

GRETA THUNBERG’S ALLEGED JAIL COMPLAINTS CALLED ‘BRAZEN LIES’ BY ISRAELI GOVERNMENT

Yeela David, Evyatar’s sister, commented on the post saying Thunberg needed to do research before posting «things you don’t understand.» She then added that, «every minute you are not deleting the post, you are becoming a bigger joke. Embarrassing.»

The post, which contained multiple images, appears to have since been edited and the slide with David’s image is no longer visible. The comment section, however, is full of reminders that his image was there with users decrying the «lies» showcased in the post.

The slides were part of a collaboration post with Thunberg, Yasmin Acar, a member of the steering committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition; the Gaza Sumud Flotilla and two other accounts.

Greta Thunberg is facing backlash after using a photo of starved hostage Evyatar David in a post claiming to depict the plight of Palestinians. (@IsraelMFA/X)

ISRAEL CLAIMS GRETA THUNBERG’S FLOTILLA SEEKING TO BREAK GAZA BLOCKADE HAS HAMAS TIES, CITES DOCUMENTS

The first slide of the post read, «The world is rightly horrified by what the Sumud Flotilla hostages are enduring,» referring to detainees arrested when Israel intercepted their fleet last week. «Their suffering is real and no human being should ever be subjected to such pain, fear or humiliation.» The post then goes on to compare this to the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, with the activists asserting that over 11,000 Palestinian «hostages and prisoners» were held in unhygienic and inhumane conditions. 

The group also included a video from 2015 in their post showing Ahmad Manasra, who was 13 at the time. Manasra was arrested in 2015 in connection with a Jerusalem stabbing attack during what is often called the «Knife Intifada,» according to The Jerusalem Post.

Galia David, mother of Israeli hostage Evyatar David poses holding an image of her son during a press conference following a meeting with the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the Red Cross’ headquarters in Geneva, on Aug. 12, 2025.  (AFP via Getty Images)

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a screenshot of the deleted slide next to a zoomed-in version of the still image of David, declaring, «Ignorance blinded by hate is trending.»

«Greta Thunberg posted about ‘Palestinian prisoners’ using the image of Israeli hostage Evyatar David – starved, abused, and forced by Palestinian Hamas to dig his own grave,» the ministry wrote on X.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg sits near an Israeli soldier after naval forces intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla. (Israel Foreign Ministry)

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Thunberg, who became renowned for her climate activism while still in high school, has become a vocal critic of Israel since the war in Gaza began. She has participated in two Gaza-bound aid flotillas, both of which were intercepted by Israeli forces.

Fox News Digital reached out to Thunberg for comment.